SAARF AMPS 2004 at a glance

Demographic and personal data

• SU-LSM variables have changed, but the groups are comparable with previous surveys.
  
• Access to services and ownership of durables remain at similar levels. Ownership of cell phones and DVDs demonstrate significant growth.
  
• Electrification has increased.
  
• Average household income increases are 0.1% below CPI.
  
• Employment levels have stayed constant.

Population update

• The adult population size has been updated according to the 2004 estimates released by the Bureau for Market Research (BMR).
  
• There has been a slight increase over 2003, with the adult population growing by 1.8%, from 29.773-million to 30.310-million.
  
• The impact of HIV/AIDS has been taken into account in this estimate.
  
• A significant change has come through in the gender proportion, with the percentage of males increasing (from 47.9% to 49.5%), and females declining (from 52.1% to 50.5%). This equates to a growth of 748 000 males, and a decline of 212 000 females.

Media consumption

• Newspaper readership in total is very stable.
  
• Daily newspapers are trending upwards.
  
• Weekly newspaper readership remains constant.
  
• There is a significant decline in magazine readership in total. Four out of five titles however, show no significant changes.
  
• The newspaper/subscriber magazine sector remains stable.
  
• Television viewership in total shows no significant movement.
  
• Cinema attendance is unchanged.
  
• Outdoor exposure to billboard, store, and truck advertising continues to grow significantly.
  
• Internet usage remains constant.

Technical information

AMPS 2004 results are based on a national representative sample of 24 489 respondents from different households, interviewed during a fieldwork period of July 2003 to June 2004.

Demographic and personal data

There have been changes to the SU-LSM variables, with most other demographic and personal data remaining stable.

SU-LSM variables change slightly

Annually, all the SU-LSM variables are tested statistically to identify which have the greatest discriminatory power. Since 2001, the same 29 SU-LSM household variables have emerged as the variables most suited to segmenting the adult population.

This year however, after testing over 70 variables, it was found that the variables explaining the AMPS 2004 data have changed somewhat.

Twenty-five of the previous 29 variables re-emerged, but four fell out, to be replaced by four new variables.

The following variables have fallen out: living in a traditional hut; living in Gauteng; living in the Western Cape; and having mains electricity.

The new variables are: living in a house/cluster house/town house; being a metropolitan dweller; having a DVD player; and having one cell phone in the household.

The ability to track and compare SU-LSM data from previous surveys however, has not been compromised, since the 2004 SU-LSM group ranges have been adjusted so that the groups are comparable with previous SU-LSM.

AMPS 2004 shows the following SU-LSM movement:

• SU-LSM 1-3 continue to decline, with SU-LSM 4-6 growing over the year previous.
  
• SU-LSM 7 is down slightly year on year, but not significantly.
  
• SU-LSM 8 showed a significant decline, from 5.9% in AMPS 2003B to 4.8%.
  
• SU-LSM 9 and 10 have increased slightly.

Education still on track

Basic literacy and functional literacy levels continue to trend upwards over time, although there were no significant gains. The average education level is slightly up, but it remains within the "some high school" category.

• Basic literacy - 93.1% (from 92.4%, AMPS 2003A).
  
• Functional literacy - 81.3% (from 79.9%, AMPS 2003A).

The levels of no schooling, primary education completed, and matric plus, have shown no significant improvements over the last survey, although the number of people with no schooling continues to drop, while the incidence of "primary completed" is still rising.

Employment levels static

There have been no significant changes in terms of employment levels.

• Full-time work - 23.3% (7.075-million)
  
• Part-time work - 11.1% (3.376-million)
  
• Self-employed - 8.8% (2.654-million)
  
• Classify self as "unemployed" - 32.9% (9.984-million)
  
• Not working (including students, housewives and retired people) - 65.5% (19.859-million)

On the income front, this is the first survey for quite some time where the annual increase in household income has lagged behind inflation. Average household income is R4 338, which is an increase of 4.7% year on year, with CPI calculated at 4.8%. Real growth year on year is therefore -0.1%, compared to a growth of 1.4% in AMPS 2003A.

Access to services and possessions

There has been a significant growth in access to electricity, especially in rural areas, which Eskom has been specifically targeting. 84.9% of households now have electricity, up from 83.6% in the previous survey.

Access to home phones and cell phones continues to change. Home phone incidence continues to decline (24.4%) while cell phone incidence is significantly up (from 30.8% in the previous survey, to 33.5%). Private ownership and prepaid usage are by far the cell scenarios of choice.

In terms of durables in the home, only one significant increase came through - DVD ownership is up from 5.4% in AMPS 2003A to 8.9% currently.

Financial services

There have been a number of profile shifts within the financial services section of AMPS 2004, but only one significant incidence change.

The incidence of ATM cards is up significantly, to 26.5% from 25.0% in the previous survey. This increase was seen in large urban areas, in the Cape Town fringe and Gauteng's West Rand, amongst females, in age 35+, and in SU-LSM 6-10.

Profile shifts include:

• Savings - up in KwaZulu-Natal.
  
• Credit cards - up on the West Rand.
  
• The incidence of people with no banking facilities is down in KwaZulu-Natal.
  
• Life cover policies - down in small urban areas.
  
• Investment/endowment policies - down in SU-LSM 9-10.
  
• Funeral insurance - up in the Northern Cape, and down in the Eastern Cape.
  
• Medical insurance - down in the Vaal.

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